"Tell us another story Rufus!" meowed Leopold as he sat on the floor amongst his brothers and sisters. He looked up admiringly at Rufus as he was settling into his favourite afternoon chair. The air grew colder outside as rain clouds threatened the horizon and Leopold was still too excited to sleep. Rufus paused. A fresh blanket had been placed in his chair. The familiar scent of his old blanket had vanished much like his sanctuary four weeks ago with the arrival of the new additions. He knew they were trouble when they arrived and his tired and old bones were missing the comfort of rest. "Another story?" barked Rufus as he sat uncomfortably on his new blanket. His legs scrambling to find purchase in the unfamiliar space. "You've had three today already young squire" he continued. "Surely you must all be needing sleep? A warm spot to rest? Food in your bellies?"
"No, Rufus, tell us about the giant bones you buried in the yard." said Oscar as he arched his back in anticipation. "No, the one about the giant disc that whirred through the air!" said Sandy.
Rufus lay in his chair, his head resting on the cushion underneath. He let out a deep, indignant sigh as he knew no rest was due while the four were still here. "Fine." he snorted. "But let this tale be the last." His words were cut off from a loud thunder clap outside. The floor rumbled and the glass cup rattled loudly atop the wooden bench behind him........

If we hit that bullseye, the rest of the dominoes should fall like a house of cards. Checkmate. --Captain Zapp Brannigan

Those are lovely. I have no real knowledge of Spiderman beyond generic pop culture, but those are some great colors. I think the compositions of Alberto Mielgo were my favorite from that set. I don't like the color of fuchsia, but I adore how it just vibrates in a composition

He said it was too big for him, so he didn't buy it. I said, "But what about ME?!" and started crying.

Oh... and he was in that dressing room with the girl he's dating. They went to Goodwill to find strange things and take pictures of each other wearing weird outfits on a date (nice!). An older woman was giving them the evil eye when they exited.

"I basically do what Lou says." -- Yonder
"My love is for Lou." -- LiquidMantis
"LouZiffer is a gentleman, a rogue, and a fantastic lover." -- Vector
"You could yoink it for a Sig." -- Demosthenes

He said it was too big for him, so he didn't buy it. I said, "But what about ME?!" and started crying.

Oh... and he was in that dressing room with the girl he's dating. They went to Goodwill to find strange things and take pictures of each other wearing weird outfits on a date (nice!). An older woman was giving them the evil eye when they exited.

Don't worry, she'll most likely be dead soon. Hehe, not wishing ill on the old lady, but some people are just curmudgeons.

He said it was too big for him, so he didn't buy it. I said, "But what about ME?!" and started crying.

Oh... and he was in that dressing room with the girl he's dating. They went to Goodwill to find strange things and take pictures of each other wearing weird outfits on a date (nice!). An older woman was giving them the evil eye when they exited.

Don't worry, she'll most likely be dead soon. Hehe, not wishing ill on the old lady, but some people are just curmudgeons.

Well, if what she likely thought was going on actually was and her job is to clean the place can you really blame her?

He said it was too big for him, so he didn't buy it. I said, "But what about ME?!" and started crying.

Oh... and he was in that dressing room with the girl he's dating. They went to Goodwill to find strange things and take pictures of each other wearing weird outfits on a date (nice!). An older woman was giving them the evil eye when they exited.

That's actually a pretty great idea for a teen date, I'm impressed. Come to think of it, I hope this is a teen you're talking about. It'd be kinda strange if he was 35...

"It is well worth $2" -farley3k
"You'll take your '80s ZX Spectrum game that was programmed in a basement and only sold at swap-meetups, and you'll like it!" -Aaron D

He said it was too big for him, so he didn't buy it. I said, "But what about ME?!" and started crying.

Oh... and he was in that dressing room with the girl he's dating. They went to Goodwill to find strange things and take pictures of each other wearing weird outfits on a date (nice!). An older woman was giving them the evil eye when they exited.

That's actually a pretty great idea for a teen date, I'm impressed. Come to think of it, I hope this is a teen you're talking about. It'd be kinda strange if he was 35...

Yeah. He's 18.

"I basically do what Lou says." -- Yonder
"My love is for Lou." -- LiquidMantis
"LouZiffer is a gentleman, a rogue, and a fantastic lover." -- Vector
"You could yoink it for a Sig." -- Demosthenes

He said it was too big for him, so he didn't buy it. I said, "But what about ME?!" and started crying.

Oh... and he was in that dressing room with the girl he's dating. They went to Goodwill to find strange things and take pictures of each other wearing weird outfits on a date (nice!). An older woman was giving them the evil eye when they exited.

That's actually a pretty great idea for a teen date, I'm impressed. Come to think of it, I hope this is a teen you're talking about. It'd be kinda strange if he was 35...

I'm sure that they had no ill intent, but this kind of behaviour can be seen as really disrespectful. If the old woman with the evil eye was shopping there because she has to, she might not be too kindly disposed to two kids mocking the store and taking the piss out of all of the stuff there. Especially as it sounds like that was all they were there to do - mock the stuff they find, not buy anything.

He said it was too big for him, so he didn't buy it. I said, "But what about ME?!" and started crying.

Oh... and he was in that dressing room with the girl he's dating. They went to Goodwill to find strange things and take pictures of each other wearing weird outfits on a date (nice!). An older woman was giving them the evil eye when they exited.

That's actually a pretty great idea for a teen date, I'm impressed. Come to think of it, I hope this is a teen you're talking about. It'd be kinda strange if he was 35...

I'm sure that they had no ill intent, but this kind of behavior can be seen as really disrespectful. If the old woman with the evil eye was shopping there because she has to, she might not be too kindly disposed to two kids mocking the store and taking the piss out of all of the stuff there. Especially as it sounds like that was all they were there to do - mock the stuff they find, not buy anything.

I'd be more willing to get behind this take if the goodwill stores were part of their charity and not simply profit centers to fund the rest of their operations (much of which consists of salaries and benefits for their CEO and top execs)

Are you sure you're not thinking of the Salvation Army? I've read about incidents with Goodwill executive corruption, but it's a big organization and there are bound to be some bad apples in there. Salvation Army on the other hand is straight up evil.

Gravey: "Feels weird to do it with something other than a finger."
Employee Profile | GOTY 2018 | Chumpy: Pineapples

Are you sure you're not thinking of the Salvation Army? I've read about incidents with Goodwill executive corruption, but it's a big organization and there are bound to be some bad apples in there. Salvation Army on the other hand is straight up evil.

No. Although to be fair to goodwill, they have never actually said their stores are intended to be charity, except as a way to provide below minimum wage jobs to workers who otherwise could not obtain work because of disabilities. Job training and job placement and such are what their charity actyually is, not donation distribution or at cost resale.

FWIW Charity Navigator usually rates Goodwill pretty highly and their administrative expenses are 5-10% depending on the state. There are a lot worse charities out there. Salvation Army's overhead is more like 25% and comes with bigotry attached (please don't give them money).

I also think going to a store just try on stuff with no intent to buy is a jerk thing to do. Sounds like that wasn't the case here though. Of course if I saw two teenagers come out of a changing room together I wouldn't think they were just trying on clothes either.

In my experience, Goodwill is pretty controversial in the special needs community.

They offer some really fantastic resources for helping people with special needs transition into independent living or less-dependent living. Here in town, my wife and I toured one of their facilities, and we were very impressed. Part of what they had to offer was a full-size simulation of a city block, complete with a function branch of our local credit union, where people could practice various jobs as well as how to independently navigate financial transactions and day-to-day living activities like going out to eat or visiting a laundromat.

At the same time, as thrawn32 alluded to, they pay their workers well below federal minimum wage. The FLSA (passed in 1938) gives employers the ability to charge special needs workers less than the federal minimum wage. Goodwill claims that their employees average just above $7/hour with some making as much as $13/hour, but anecdotally, I typically hear about people making about $4/hour. (You can find some pretty awful stories of people being paid less than $1/hour, as well, although Goodwill claims that there were extenuating circumstances in all of those cases.)

Goodwill, and other non-profits that take advantage of this law, say that they're giving special needs people an opportunity to work that they wouldn't otherwise have, and that they pay people according to what they're able to do relative to a worker without special needs. You hear a lot about the "opportunity" for people to "take pride in their work". (There's also an intersectional issue here where people who are living on SSDI and other government benefits are discouraged from earning too much money. If they earn too much, their benefits, which include access to Medicaid, are cut off. This has lead a number of people with special needs and their caregivers to not protest low wages.) Efforts to require that people with special needs be paid the federal minimum wage have gone nowhere.

Their CEO earns around $450k annually, for what it's worth, not millions. But the income disparity you see everywhere else is in full force at Goodwill and is perhaps especially galling considering the wages they pay.

All the same, Goodwill has been a really mixed bag for the special needs community, and you'll find plenty of people on both sides of the argument.

He said it was too big for him, so he didn't buy it. I said, "But what about ME?!" and started crying.

Oh... and he was in that dressing room with the girl he's dating. They went to Goodwill to find strange things and take pictures of each other wearing weird outfits on a date (nice!). An older woman was giving them the evil eye when they exited.

That's actually a pretty great idea for a teen date, I'm impressed. Come to think of it, I hope this is a teen you're talking about. It'd be kinda strange if he was 35...

I'm sure that they had no ill intent, but this kind of behaviour can be seen as really disrespectful. If the old woman with the evil eye was shopping there because she has to, she might not be too kindly disposed to two kids mocking the store and taking the piss out of all of the stuff there. Especially as it sounds like that was all they were there to do - mock the stuff they find, not buy anything.

I think there's a big difference between dressing up in unconventional outfits and making funny poses, compared to mocking the store itself. Sounds like they were doing the former to me.

"It is well worth $2" -farley3k
"You'll take your '80s ZX Spectrum game that was programmed in a basement and only sold at swap-meetups, and you'll like it!" -Aaron D